Effects of a physical exercise programme on bodyweight, body condition score and chest, abdominal and thigh circumferences in dogs

Sammanfattning

BackgroundResearch on the effects of physical exercise on canine body composition is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a physical exercise programme on bodyweight, body condition score (BCS) and chest, abdominal and thigh circumferences in dogs. Twenty-one healthy dogs of different breeds exercised together with their owners during an eight-week programme consisting of jogging and strength exercises. Standardised measurements were performed in triplicates with a measuring tape on standing dogs. Chest circumference was measured at three anatomical locations, abdomen at two and thigh at one. Data on bodyweight, BCS (9-point scale) and circumferences were analysed with mixed model repeated measures analyses to evaluate changes after the programme and effects of target distance.ResultsSeven dog owners choose a target distance of 2 km and 14 owners choose 5-10 km. Mean BCS decreased (P = 0.007) after the programme (5.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 4.7 +/- 0.6) but there was no effect of target distance. Almost all chest and abdominal circumference measurements decreased (P

Nyckelord

BCS; Body condition score assessment; Canine; Morphometric measurements; Morphometric ratios; Obesity; Overweight; Physical activity

Publicerad i

BMC Veterinary Research
2024, volym: 20, nummer: 1, artikelnummer: 299
Utgivare: BMC

SLU författare

• Söder, Josefin

  • Institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Roman, Erika

  • Institutionen för husdjurens biovetenskaper, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    
  • Uppsala universitet

• Berndtsson, Johanna

  • Institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Lindroth, Katrin

  • Institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

• Bergh, Anna

  • Institutionen för kliniska vetenskaper, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
    

UKÄ forskningsämne

Klinisk vetenskap

Publikationens identifierare

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-024-04135-3

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/131414